Ship launching ways assemblage



B. SMITH SHIP LAUNCHING WAYS ASSEMBLAGE Nov. 23, 1943.

Filed Nov. 25, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l lYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII$IIL"I JIWM'MM Sm z 372 W Blaine 2 B. SMITH SHIP LAUNCHING WAYS ASSEMBLAGE Nov. 23, 1943.

2 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 25, 1942 v21 Biains [957725272 Patented Nov. -23,

amp L U oHmG wnrs-AssEMn 'AGE a v V V l A Blalrlyismith, Honstom TeXi. H j" H Application November 25, 1 942; Serial N0. 466,897

' i This invention relatesto irnproveinents in ship launching ways, and has particularrelation to launching ways designed to "Permit; "sidewise launchingof ships.

- "During recent years the methodpflaunching ships in'their direction'of length has been modified in various yards by providing the ship construction in'such way as will permit the ship to be launched sidewise'instead of lengthwise; Certain advantages are presented by this change into when being launched-and with the dredged depth sufficient to permit the passage of the ship downward on the'ways into its buoyant status in the water without liabilityof grounding. This method of launching ships has been the practice through the years, but the ship-building needs of recent years requiring additional facilities; led to the development of the practic ofv launching ythe'ships sidewise-ih which the width of the ship becomes the criterion as'to dredging width and 'depth-alo'ng-the shore instead of thelength, "the latter dimension being taken care oi by the usual maneuvering and other areas requiredby the earlier practice; with sidewise launching the entire length of the ship from bow'to stern zones contacts the water substantially concurrently amongst which is the factthat while the same 7 dimensioned ship may be present in both forms of launching; the longitudinal or endwise launch ing requires a basin or harbor-with a dredged zone of great width from the -'shore line-to permitthe entirelength of the ship to pass there- "ardent advocates. But both have certain disadvantages, amongst which isthe fact that in boththe launching causes a decided rolling effect"on the launched shipgdue to the canted position when reaching the surface of the water, and the ship; in rightmgitselLeXposes the inboard bilges to the possibility of being damaged by the bulkheador the ends'of the fi'x'ed'ways.

*The p'resentinvention i s'designed to permit 'sidewise launching without liability" of damaging such bilges',and,in addition,to permit such launch ingunder conditions where-adequate depth of" water' is not obtainable in" the immediate yi- -cinity oi the ends of the fixed ways. The result is obtained bythe use of a'buoy'ant extension of the fixed ground ways; with the eitension pivoted relative to the latter andhaving' its freeend tetheredto thefbed'of the basi'nbya flexible connection, with the latter of such length" that the buoyant section, in'its upper position, will form a direct continuation of the fixed ground Ways: in the latter position, all but an'inner zone o'fthe buoyant section is permanently submerged, the length of the unsubmerged inner -zone depending upon the height of the outer ends of the fixed ground ways-above the water level of.

V the'basin; inpracticeyit: is preferred that the 'water "level practicallyextend to the height of y the outer endof the fixed ground ways, in which case the buoyant section is completely submerged. The buoyant section is of such-form and arranged in such manner as to swingarcuthroughout the length, instead of by the gradual ately downward on the pivot at its inner en'd'and may come to reston the inclined bed of the basin adjacentthe shoreline. The buoyant section is of a type to provide for positive buoyancy so that it .-normally remains in its upper-position, re-

.. maining in Lthat position during 1 the downward 1 the, pivot point,1: whereupon the buoyantsection 'Twodifierentforms of sidewise launching have been employed: heretofore. One of these forms has :the ground ways extending to. thexwaters edge andrfixed; in this form the sliding ways, during launching, continue to advance along and beyond the fixed ways untilthe-ships weight travel of the sliding sways carrying the ship, un-f tilthe centre :of gravity of, the moving mass passes willlowerunderthe weight of the moving mass, mo evi' sycharq at a I Obviously, thesuccessiul operation will depend somewhat:upon therate at which the sectionis lowered. Sincefthe advancofjthe m'ovinginass causes the sliding ways and ship .to drop; off of the fixed ways into the water.- In the second .form the lower ends of the ground ways are: loose and arranged relative to a fulcrumjknuckle; the

loose ways tilting as the weight of the ship causes preponderanceon the Water's edge side of' the loose ways. Both forms are in use, and each has constantly increases the weight placed onthe section, and the. lowering jaction constantly changes the, angle of thetop of the's'ection to increase its angularity to 'the' horizontal, it is apparentthat unless resistanceadditional to that ofithenormalpositivebuoyanoy be present, the V rate of lowering will in'crease very rapidly'despite the positive buoyancy; while such positive'buoyancy would,in-itsel'i, be of advantage-in that the ship would have been carried a greater distance from the shore line before entering the water-the invention 'contemplates a retardation in the rate of lowering. This is provided by employing a flooring in the outer zone of the sectiornthe width of the flooring zone being such as to offer a large area of resistance to the downward movement, thus decreasing the rate of the downward movement of the buoyant section as the ship advances during the launching and easing the lowering of the ship into the water.

This easing of the lowering movement is ad-- ditionally facilitated through the character of.

the launching activities provided by the side' wise launching of the ship. This: launchinglmethe. od utilizes a plurality of individual ways spaced: apart in the length of the ship-th'e number of ways will vary, being dependent on the.;length; E r

sliding and fixed ground ways maybe arranged for co-operation'.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. l, to illustrate one way in which the buoyant section may be formed.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic planview of a portion of the battery of units used in sidewise launching of ships under the invention.

Since the present-invention is designed for the launching of ships sidewise instead of lengthwise, itis" apparent that the launching ways assemblage must present a structure capable of .efficiently supporting the boat from how to 'stem during the launching. Obviously, where the ship is of. considerable length the cradle structure- .ii used in building the ship-wou1d extend.

/ throughout such 1ength,"but it would not be and tonnage of the ship; hence, the number may v range from four to thirty individual ways By" e nuins. th fl rin b a$? 9. etw en w ysr heq q r bein c ri d wa -asw s t ay t rt FQ B IQ the fi qriagz ee attac w ia edd t q thaflocfins pglmfiet ombe w n Way gadgets uehxes ta a sin e it w lk n eseerv. i9; hi

- iffiio fe slhbej oi aid wnw r. t ro fi water during loweringoi the secti n. In her u 1 the .c mb ied a -a ar wa s el iie a @0 2? ha n aprade rm n d ,W Q h nca b.- t at e l lgo nup s. en th and w h th p a ar. a pt he .flqqlri m t mo t r h th Wate in? i re twnlwhi h. a sub tantia 7 i t. ea l s. o the. n 9 .tl1 e =e ili l ep :9.-

vlid l 1a w r ng. aen' mw i e. i lqppo i ien to the weight of the ship being launched wecti r e thewey thxce h e amin eneierv'es'io retha e ke th ii w 'l et e d ro ns g ein un son en j ha h s Jaim w ll-beechi fit' f lvl ni rm.iiiemp w;t9 st n; I her W de W ile.thee inmavy r in. Weis a eiistiq in thed n t eaci tsl neth ,t'c is t aq u equ lpre u e onld f grentways, the ac tha the g m awa s often. exte d In addition t l' e con lengt z e. are 'g iii ly l oniieg ed t ethe o 5.1 11 wei htv ria onsl i catheflo r n m I m v -a 1m f an the resista e o the. le s weiehtvna pg eidic qdu in 'en a uatic: eistanefiw, the. lowe oft e heavi rqportions .-Qf,the; ship.,, As a result, the launching is not. only under more favorable 'conditions 'but H there, is no likelihood oi strains. being. placed on the ship itself such aslcould-result from unequal rates of ,loweringmovement where unconnected and spaced ways are utilized.

. To these and other.enda'thehature of which iwillhbe made clear hereinafter, the ir yent gn consists inthe improvedconstructions a d binations of parts-'hereinafter-more u'l ly describedj illustrated in the accompanyin @IQW: ins; and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. f i In the accompanyingdrawihgs; inwhich I larjreference characters indicate/similar parts it fih ri e" w 1 .j1 l- Fig i 1 M vii Q e d;,0 attery 9 P r e n se t on a si ne fbfP he invent on f i -2.1 7% a l sec n view. taken.- 1. in 2; 2 of Fig.1, showingoneform'in.which the necessary;thatrthe ways used in launching the shipwould require an equally lengthy continuity,

although such continuity is obtainable and may e manned/here n; c wey .ihi Fea i l to .f e entlyl inq e lithecr dlj. nd l e ul v the us .915. i qiuu 's l gaw ..u it l s es-am in the direction of length of th e' ship prpvided the. s aci g. ewes. P sent a n fitt s on he s ip i fi i t, t p us the c atte t9, he st a n d; :H n a re ehasd m nstra ed fille th bat er f aun hi e e s avea 51 1 qiei .numbe .o i div d al wevers idiesl es supRQr ia sv t m t zet anaee con t ons Q; e s ip a d Pi rce-t pa s re lstmie lth meme? wn h si id w sa and he b make ppe ibl the use .o re ian l etiqns. such a c l shone; lfre en lytslwh q erat es. wd ldmqthe ie sih e .r. a tiq. l f.l s=a qn wh q lpthe wis .well be l. fo s vic as alsh m uil in var qci t on su t h v led t th tion and than a range fo sidew se launchi g. 0.

: l hits eve t .91 a z t ntaz to m uc one of the modern developments of ship- 7 As heretofore pointed out, the launching ways heltt gr use r hisc nnecti rhave. ut zed eitheiforie gr the other of two general furida me ta .me h0 s.-. 7 u ze fixed. e oundways for each unit, these extending to the vicinity of the shjore line; and on which-the sliding wayds located, the fixed way being inclined downward.- l y, rwith the slidingway having its lower face corresponding to the angle of the ways; while the upper face isxhorizont'al since on this face.

the boat construction is vdeveloped; In one .of the methods the ground waysextend to the shore line, and in' launching, the sliding ways are I released and .traveldownward over and incomiplete contact with the fixed ways until the centre of gravitypasses beyond theend of such fixed ways whereupon the preponderance. ofi'weig'ht causes thesliding ways to oantrapidly with the ship moving off of the ways into the water.

ingwayyandflthe ship; to at. angle. at which the ship'is'beinglaunched. ..1,.

Both of these methods .havetheir partisan ad-i herents. and both possess certain advantages; but both also have their disadvantages amongst which I is the .fact 2 that, with both, thelan'gle. present during theclatte'r. partof. the launching is such that the-ship isfcareened to aconsiderable angle' when entering-the water, with the result that,.in:righting itself, the tendency is tocause the'xship torch to a careening anglerim'the opposite direction; if the roll takes place-close to the shore line, there is/a possibility that .the

inboard bilge portions of the ship will be carried into contact with the"piling,;tc.; of the shore-line bulkhead, by the roll of the ship, with Q the possibility of such bilge portions beingdam-.-

latter part of the launching fromthat found with the weight of the ship active in producing a rapid drop of the "ship .into the water, thus bringing the initialwater contact high upon the outboard side of the ship and .withthe ship 7 located in the vicinity of theshore line. Hence, when, the submerging of the .ships bottom takes place with the resultant .eifort of the ship to return its center line to the vertical, thelatter action carries such line to the opposite side of the vertical, and, due to theproximity of the ship to the shore line, the action tends to bring the inboard bilge portions into contactwith the bulkhead. In other words, the initial wetting of the ship on the outboard side reaches to such a point that the rightingof the ship; causes suihcient power to cause the ship to, seriously 7 roll in the opposite direction-results due to the large angularity of the drop-and since the drop takes place in the vicinity of the bulkhead, the inboardbilge portions are moved beyond a"position ofsafety. ..1

While the present invention, provides, for, a

pivotal movement of ways-and thus changesthe angle of advance, the rate of change of the lat-. ter angle is reduced, with the: result that the ship not only has its. initial contact withthe' water farther from, the shore line, but the rate of.

swingof thecenter line of the ship is reduced to such an extent that the angle of the center lineto the vertical at such moment of contact is materially less than with the methods referred to, with-the result that'during the rightingof the ship to the extentof the roll is greatly de--' creased, if not rendered negligible, and, when present, takes. place at alg eater d sta cefr m the shore line and wholly within the safeilimits, of the launching bas in,thus avoiding any liability of damage to the, inboard bilge portions.

An assembly designedvto produce this and other results is shown illustratively in the ac-- and the fixed ways may be eitherof a numbericfsuch forms which may be employed,-but all:*of

which have the general characteristic of per-*- mitting the sliding wayrto :travellforward in .a fixed path to ensure-that there: is .no lateral movement of the sliding way during the travelq one such form is shown,.but it is obvious that other .forms may be employeda'nd which" are designed to provide similarresults;

Similarly, the buoyantgsection may present; either, of; a

number of,differentjstructural forms as long as they presentrthe fundamental, characteristics of a positive buoyancy and of the retarding feature one.det ail form is. shown but, other well-, known structural forms may bedemployed, in:

V eluding, if desired, special buoyancy producing meansdesigned to produce the positive buoyancy characteristic referred to. And, obviously',; the

buoyant section wilipresent the same typerof co-.operating face as shown by the fixed ways,

since the sliding ways co-operate with both the fixed ways and the ways of the buoyantsection during the launching, In other words, the i nvention is not limited to. the specific details shown, the latter being illustrative of. the fun:

damental features upon which the-invention rests. 7

In the drawings,.A represents the ship; Bindicates the sliding ways; Cindicates thefixed ground ways; ,D indicates the buoyant ,section', and E indicates the launching basin.

Inprinciple, the length .and tonnage of the ship will determine the number of waysfem ployed. For instance, a very heavy ship may require as many as twenty-eight fixed ground way. unit's, while a smaller's'hip may requireas few asvsixof such way unitsybecausei'of this the invention contemplates the use of a plurality of ground way units ranging in nurnb'er from four to thirty. In this reference to ways'and' way units, the term is designed to meme the assemblage of B; C and D,.which constitutethe support for theship; however, the term'fsup- I porting u'nitf herein refersv more particularly to elementsC and TD over whichthe'e'lement B and the ship advance during the launching. This distinction is made due to the fact that the sliding way B may be continuous and have. a length to include a number of supporting units, as pres ently explained; ormay be of a length co-opera tive withbut a single supporting unit, in which case it would formwith the supporting unit-- a ships supporting unitf" rather than the sup,- porting unit referred to, element B forming part of the supportfor the ship and at the same time is advanced with the ship. during launchingof thelatter;

' The sliding wayf Biwill have; a definite area, the width determined bythewidth of the ship,

7 while the length will be determined by whether it is usedindividually with a, single. supporting.

unit or concurrently cooperates with a succession ofvsuch units. The fixed groundyways, C will have their directions of length transverse to the direction of lengthofthe ship, and have companying drawings, these showingponev spe-- since alternative ways of meeting specific probe lem are well-known: For-instance, the specific.

' cific form; in which the assembly, maybe pro-, y duced. Obviously, the details may be varied,

ingspaced apart and extending in parallelism,

the total number of ways C used'being. suchas to provide for adequate support for the ship,

. form ofithe' ,opposing' :faces tof the sliding way 7 these-presenting a succession of supporting limit elements :with the latter alsorspaced aparti; The buoyant-section Drof a supporting unit will have a width substantially equal to the overall width of :the ways 'Cwhich form the supportingiunit; their-section length will generally have sa-llength approximating the Width of the -"s'liding'Ways B; althoughfisuch entire length :may Knot be needed during launching-4n p'ractice, 'its length 'is :su'c'h a's 'to' ensure proper launchin'g o'f'the largest s'h ip s contemplated by the launching -assemb1age.- The ground ways C reach to the bulkhead e of the basin e", and the buoyant section D is pivoted relative to the ground ways-C at that pointwith the arrangement such that during the inactive period of the launching assemblage, the ways of the'ground portion-of the supporting unit,--'a,nd those of the'buoyant section of 'suchunit,-'-will'-extend in a common planedown'wardly i'nclined relative to the horizontal-from-endto end. 'If the number of' ways of a supporting unit is greater than two, an equal number will be provi'd'ed on -the-unit buoyant'section. 1

-In practice, the supporting units are apart'gthe spacing distancedepending upon the weightcharacteristic of the ship. Each unit-is considered as anindividualQin that the-elements referred to are cooperative with each other. However, the buoyant sections-each include a flooring portion presently referred to in deta'i1 and'this elementis designed-to connect adjacent units together, so-that, in*this respect, there is co-operation between units additional cooperation'between unitswill be present wherethe sliding way assemblage is'itselfcontinuous' instead-of formed of individual portions tied together-by the "ship itself. 'This connection of supporting units byfthe' flooringto form-"groupsof unitswill also depend'for its'grouping characteristic=ontheweight of the ship. For instance, if thenumber of units'required is six for the ship beingdaunched, all of these may or -wo uld"be grouped into one unitgroup; orrthe other hand, if the ship is of 'asize torequiretwent iei'ght supporting units, these ma'ybe divided intofour unit groups by connecting, together "sevenadjacent'units'into a singleg'roup. These 'areii1us merry-94 der' thatzlthe; ship constructionmay take :place I o'nrzthe DIfLaI]. evenikeel, withthe center line ofzdzhhlfirixiextending t eizti'cally.,v Aiicradle may be zempdoyed; desired; but" is zn'otishovm :herein a'sfit :forms nom'rtm'f ith'e .presentsinvention.

'llhe'istructurerzofithe esliding way :is shown in itszsimple'st form and; asis'hownyisnotto becomsidered as .i'df .ilimiting effect; since it .is :ohvious that, structurally, it rianibe made lup, in.'a variety of '-:wa;ys;.*when.;formed of lagsuitable wood content, ahrlnnorerorless solid, it .can ipresent buoyant .characteristics vzsuch ias :-.tend toireduce the tetal 'iweight .characteristic of the ship :during the latter part of the launching operation; ;however, the structure mustkhaveizsufiicient istrengtheto maintain itself during the-buildingandlaunch-s ingoperations. I s v 1Dhe buoyant :section lofweach :unit :may .beiof suitable ironic, that disclosed illustratively herein being generally "ofv truss characteristic; :Since two frway 1 formations are v:found ;in .the fixed groundiways, it is .apparent that section :D will provide a'similar.number of fiwaysTatheseibemg tiative to"indicatethegeneral fiexib'ilityp-fthe invention; it 'is' 'apparentjthat as many sis-seven supporting units may be grouped into a s ngle unit group, and, therefore; the totalnunrben-df units which may be requiredfor la particular ships-tonnage can bedi'vided into unitgroupsthe umber- *of which-is best qualifiedto produce the desired result operationally. V

*Th" slide-ways "Bare necessarily held aganst movement-longitudinally of the ship, aswell'as be able to slidingly advance lengthwise of the supp'ortingf Ways. "Hence, as indicated in "Fig.2;- the under face of the slideway; and the upper face 'of-each ground way are 'proi/fided -with--suitable complement'al configurations such as Will -permit I these-activities when the sliding way assemblage is released-at the start'of thelaunchingQ particular form -of complemental facesshown 1 is that of a simple projecting ridge of inverted V sh'ape incross-' section, carried by -the ground way '0; iwith the under face of "the SllGi-Iig WaY grooved-" as at i b; the numbereofi grooves zb will depend upo'n the nu-mber of 'grc-und'ways used clined toward the bulkheaditoipermit theilaunch in lengthwise lalinement to those. of the ground WaysLC. iAs'a .result, thertruss aformation will not onlyihave: aLdepth. dimension but also a width dimensionnwith the truss members 'connected to proyideithe width of thessection. The widthof the-:section \will generally approximately equal the-overall widthiof the fways o'fithe ground ways 'portion of ithe supporting. unitjniitheslid ing Way assemblage lbe of :the fship s supporting unitv type, i the -widthi0f sectionilm may: equal the lengtlrofitheslidingiway unit member.

The buoyant section D of ithe supporting unit is :hingedlyior swingingly connected atzits inner upperend to "the ibulkhead tends of :the :fixed ground ways,':or to the upper-zone of the-:bulhhead e; inithe'latter Case, the ways ofssection D,

in -the normal upperl position of the :latter, :will al'ine withi the ways of the :fixe'd ground ways to formaa:continuationthereof. JIhe hinging points are indicated atid. The outerendofsectiomDis tethered tolthe': bottom. ori'bed of thei'basinEE in suitable :manner, :a flexible cable or :chain d being shown as having its lower endtanchoredito the- 'bottom of 1 the basin .1 and its ,upper -en'd 'secureds to f th r -bottom of "the truss; "'the lengthr of tinuous way characteristic-is '=provided from the inner. end of the -fixed ground w ays to the outer end -of:the buoyant section, with-the ways -inclined downwardat uni-forman'gle the horizontal. Y I Since -section D is hing'edly mounted at its inner 'll per-end, it is apparent that the section can swing "downwardlydrom such-"upper position through'aan arc the-center of swing'ofwhich is? the 'hingingpoints d. The truss is therefore arrangdxwith-;oblique inneraande outer ends: to enable the sectioni'to zswing .throughrsuchizarc, the'zlengthrof. the.-,arc:zbeing;- suchzthat'zwhm sthe lowereportion-Joftheftruss isrzin contact witlrthe sions will have reached at least 'the neighbor- V 7 their bed'of the basinya ship of thejlargestfdimenQ- hood ofits launchedconditiomas presently explained; the bottom of the basin is arranged to receivesection D 'when'in suchlower position. Obviously, it is unnecessaryfor the sec-- 7 tion to swing through the complete arc to en"- able ships tobe completely launchedjhencethe bed of the basin is arranged to meet the condi tions set up bythe launching requirements of ships of apredetermined maximum siz'e. I

Each section D-assembly is of positive'buoyant characteristic, produced in a'ny'desired manner, as by thematerials used,'-or by'auigiliary 'meansa As a result; the assembly will r ormallymove to the upperendcf the arc of "swingwhenfreeto of the elementfan" exposure total capable of providing a material resistance factor tothe swinging movement of thesection downward'during the'launchingoperation. Y

g In launching service, I the assemblage presents a number? of highly important advantages, as

will be understood from the following description of'an assumed launching operation?" Whenthelaunchingistobegin and assuming j the assemblage to ibe. in the position of Fig; 1, "itwill be 'understood that when the usual chock blocks are-removed, the weight of the shipfwill r'c'ause the sliding ways B to start'travel down the fixedgroundways C due tothe angularity do so; and since the water level'is in the vicinity of the top of the bulkhead, it will beunderstood that most if not "all of the sectionwill besubmerged at all times. g r

In addition, the: bottom face" 'ofthe buoyant section of the supporting unit carries in itso'uter zone, aplanar face providedby fiooring'Fg'the flooring being secured to the underface of the truss structure at the outer end Zone thereofrthe ilooringand therefore the faceisiofsuitable,

width (in the drawings it isindicated as approni mately one-third of the; length or the lower face of the truss). The length of the'flooring element is 'not' limited to the width'cf the. sectionin practice it extends at least to ans-mcludes the width of the'next section or unit;

' thus bridging the gap between adjacent funlts.

j-there will he a slighttendency to acceleration, b'ut the rate is low, The continued advance of theslidingfways will cause their advance ends topass over' the hinging points (2 of sections D and Ollj'tO such"sections; "however, until-the verticalcenter line of the shippass'es thehin'ging' pointsTd 'thereis n'o materialchange in the conditions, since the preponderance of "weight is-thencn the fixed ground waysYWhen the center line of the ship passes the hinging points;

aeprepondera'nce 'o'f weight condition deveiopspn the buoyant section side ofthe ways. Thisp-re 'p'onde ranceof weight is' initially slight/dueto the fa'ctfthat only the" difference in 'weight of As heretofore pointed'out, the flooring my exi tend from unitto unit for as many as seven units to thereby provide a continuous face characteristic which would extenda distancewhich includes the overall distance providedby the included units, with the flooring itself "serving to tie such units togetherto 'haveitheir swinging movements in unison. If the number 0f supporting units employed is large, the element F may be in the form of a numberfof such unit groups, with the assurance 'that'ithe units of'a' group will move together, through the connected relation produced by the flooring,- and, during downward swing, providing concurrentjdownward movement of the unit groups,-due to the fact that all ofthe groups underlie the Shinto that the movement of the "latter causes the groups to havesuch'coricurrent movement? ob -j viously, the element F could extend continuously fromend to end of the assemblage regardlessof the number of units, but this would tend to'provide a somewhat unwieldy assemblage-hence,

theunit groupingis preferred." j W Aside from the tyingtogetherof; a number of units for concurrentinovement,flooring minent F'is designed especially as a retarding means "ac'" tive during the launching As will be under pletely pass the hingirig line.

thejshili on 'Qppositesides of a 'vertical plane through'the'hinging point iszact'iveas a weight factor on sectionjDfas thdslidihg ways advance With the ship, this preponderancefof weight grows through shifting weight fromfthe landto the section side or the hinging' point as the. centerline'of the's'hip advances, thus increasing the weight value of thesection-borne'sideand reducing the weight value of the land-borne portion, this continuing until the sliding waysrcom-f i As isapparent, the presence of the prepend'e'rance of weight as an active weight value Jon the buoyant sections, rendersthispreponderance of weight active a weight factor tending to depress the'subirnerged sectionsD'I *Inlthe prior types of launching ships sidewise, this develep ment and shift'by the preponderance 'of weight viousl'yreferred to'." Practically. similar results are produced where the ways are of the second I type pointed outthe' weight preponderance will stood, when weight is placed on the'buoyantlsection and thereby tends to swing it downwardin' its arcuatepath, such movement must alsoniove' the flooring with the section; since the planar face extends "at approximate right angles to the arc length, such planar-face offers alarge surfface which must be 'moved'bodily th'roughthe water as the arcuate movementdevelopsj thus setting up a resistance characteristic tending-to retard the advance. This're'sistance effect is not limited to the width of the truss but ispresent withthe connecting portion of the elementbetween adjacent units, so that the totality of face thus exposed approximately equa1s' the overall distance of the assembled units'times the width teris tic s of a leveragesystern in which the power age acticn. As a result, the development of the .78 arcuate movement of the outer end of theunit rapidly shift the loose ways to'their lower position, .thus'producing the rapid acceleration effect.

Withthe present -'inventi on,ho wever; the effect is different, When the initial andsmall weight preponderance is made active on the buoyant sections D, the weightvalue is small and applied at theinner end of thesections; at thistimejthe weight applicationis such as to 'set up the charac is being' applied close to "the fulcrum point and the power'js opposed by a resistance made active atlthe end of a lever arm which tends to oppose lowering of such arm. In other words, at this timerthe resistance value of the retarding means;

is high sinceit is being made active under lever? duction in the rate of acceleration;- It may be noted that at thcinstant the change in angularity of the section-borne ways begins, the portion fifths-sliding w v e s mb a aths l n side of the hinging point also becomes angular to the fixed ground Ways; thusplacing the weight of the inboard side of the shipgin-directopposition with its tendency to control the rate of developrnent of the preponderance of weight values. With the reduced acceleration, the shifting in angularity of the center line is ata low rate at the instant when the shipis actually approaching its water berthsince the rate of acceleration is of slow increaseat such time the-slidingways will continue to advance thus'carrying theflship farther along toward the berthing pointand away from the shore line. I V

V As the preponderance of weight increases during the advance of; thesliding ways, its weight value increases and at'the same time the length of; the resistanceleverage arm decreases, thus tending to increase the angularity-ofthe section-borne ways and the acceleration: hence, the power value is increased-as is the rate of acceleration, thus tending to increase the speed of advance of the outerend of the unit section in itsdownward arc. But this fact also provides the condition that the largearea of the planar faceof the retarding flooring F must advance agreater distance per unit of time, so that the res-istance effect is not completely lost by the shortening of the leverage-but istem-peredby the increase on resistance efiect produced by the increased speed; 'As a result, while there isa continuing change in angularity 'of the sectionborne ways, with a resulting increase in acceleration, the. rate of increase inboth is; kept within reasonable limits.

As each increment in distance is added, there will-"be nr constant increase in angularity of the section-borne ways and an increase in accelerationbut the rate at which thesedevelopis ma teirially reduced through the resistance provided bythe retarding flooring F,-as-indicated; As a result, the ship will-advance a-greater distance from thebul-kheadbefore contact with the water is. had, as comparedwith the prior methods. And since each increment of advance carries the ship toward such contact with the water thetime comes when. the actual contact addsits effeetv through resistance provided by ship displacement of the water, thus tending to decrease the power value being exerted on theleverage armthe-ships water diSPlacing resistance is added to that of the flooring F, as a control agency in tho downward movement of the section;- to thus control the rate of acceleration; Hence, the launchingof the ship will be at" a more uniform rate increase as to acceleration,

with. the angleof the center line of the ship to the. vertical greatly reduced in val-uethus reducing'the poss ble rollingvalue- -and with the distance from the bulkhead. increased, to. render the ship immune from inboard damage'value.

In" other words, the eff'ect of the presence of fiooi'ihgF together with its particular location relativeto the pivot point ofthe section is primarily to damp tlie suddenchange that occursatthe instant when the preponderance of weight becomes; activeto change. the angularity of the. center line of'th ship; in practicing the prior' methcus, thechan-ge in the angularity 'ofthe center line. through change inangularity of ,the

of the ship from the vertical; in-this respectthelaunching has more of the orderliness of the lengthwise launching procedure, rather than the broadside characteristic that is present with sidewise launching andwhichinherently tends to provide forabrupt changes in the accelerating conditions and the tendency to set up the drop? or f falling condition during the period of ,ap

prgach of the ship to the surface of the water. While the present invention will provide constant acceleration until contact is had with the water, the dampingeffect provided during this critical period tends to retain the rate within controllable limits in contrast with the sudden changes that are inherent. with the prior metlr ods.-

'As will be understood, the axes of the hing-ing points of all of the supporting units of the assembly-are in alinement, since all of the units must begin their swing at the, same instant; ,and it is obvious that the checking of the sliding Way-assemblage should be arranged in such manner'that the advancing movement-bf suchas-v semblage over the fixed ground-ways willibring the center. line of the ship over the hinging positions; thisis immaterial since the sections remain inactive until the succeeding launching; The basin in the vicinity of the bulkhead has its bed fashioned to receive the depressed sections,-;-as indicated by the showing of 'Figl; and mayactuallybegiven the inclination shown in this figure topresent a stop characteristic to limit the downward movement of the sectionand prevent strain on the hinging points should the sections be used for launching very large ships;- the inclined bed would form a definite limit to the angularity towhich the buoyantways could move;- since this stop effect would take place when the ship has reached the water, and the angularity of the ways established, a ship-of greatdepth of keel could continue to advance until buoyancy is reached and without further I I change in the angularity of the center line; both the 'shipand the ways wouldgthus-be protected. However, inpractice, the completed launchings will generally be over before such position. is

reached,- it being understood that thecarlier.

completion will reduce the angularity of the shipscenter line tothe vertical correspondingly Tone of the advantages of thepresent invenion. 1

For instance, a ship of. small tonnage will ob viously present a smaller weight factor as well as require less depth. of water in launching; ob:-

viously, -such aship will-develop a lower rate of.

downward movement of the sections D, thus lowering the rate of acceleration increase, and

at the same time complete the launching with the angularity of the section .waysless variant from the horizontal than with a larger ship, with resultant difference in the angularity of the center line. of a complete battery of units, the yard is In other words, with the installation equipped to handle the launching of ships of all sure similar launching conditions for each ship. If it is found necessary tochange such area to meet the conditions 'of production of ships of larger or smaller dimensions, the area can be varied by increasing or diminishing the width of the flooring zone; by the use of a suitable connection between the lower end of the tetherwardlyby gravitation in an inclinod 'path of.

movement during the launching operation, each of such supporting units including a fixed ground way formation extending substantially to the bulkhead and a buoyantsection of positive buoy ancy hinged relative to such formation with the.

hinging point located at such bulkhead position, the buoyant section having its outer end tethered to the bed of the basin to limit the upward movement of the section and'to permit freedom of downward arcuate'swinging of the sectionabout' such hinging point, eachground way formation and buoyant section combinedly presenting a j gravitational downwardly-inclined way extending in a substantially common plane prior to the ships launching, theplane of the buoyant section being Varied downwardly relative to such plane during the launching movement of the ship and by and due to the weight of the ship and, sliding way assemblage, and retarding means car ried by and movable with such buoyant section, said means being rendered active during launch:

ing by advance of the laden sliding way asseming cable and bed-anchor, it would be possible to disconnect the section D from its anchor, thus permitting the section to rise to the surface for making such changes in flooring width as. well as making repairs. 7 As heretofore pointed out, the sliding ways ma be individual to a supporting unit, to a succession of such units, or may include all of the units, this being determined by the length dimension of the way, the practice at the yard in this respect being utilized; in either form the arrangement is considered as a sliding way assemblage. The specific structure of the buoyant section shown in the drawings is intended simply as i1- lustrative, being shown as of truss characteristic. In practice, any suitable detail structure may be employed, it being essential that it be hingedlysupported at its inner end, tethered at its outer blage relative to the buoyant section and being operative to dampthe rate of acceleration of the laden assemblage over the section.

2. A launching assemblage as in claim 1 characterized in that the retarding means includes a planar face carried by the outer .end zone of end to the bed of the basin 'to limit the upward movement of the section while permitting downward swinging through an arc, and to have positive buoyancy sufiicient at least to normally retain the section in its upper position. These characteristics, together with the retarding means F, are essential.

While I have herein shown and described one or more forms of assembly for providing sidewise launching of ships, it will be readily understood the under face of the section and extending substantially normal to the direction of arcuate.

swing of the section. Y

3. A launching assemblage as in claim 1 char- .acterized in that the retarding means includes a planarfacecarried by the outer end zone of the under side of the section and extending substantially normal to the direction of arcuate swing of the section, and with the face of predetermined width and of a. length sufficient to in.- clude at least two adjacent buoyant sections.

4. A launching assemblage as in claim 1 characterized in'thatthe retarding means includes a planar face carried by the outer end zone of the under side of the section and extending substantially normal to the direction of arcuate swing of the section, and with the face of predetermined width and of a length sufiicient to connect a pluthat changes or modifications thereof may be found desirable or essential in meeting the varied installation and operational needs or the individual desires of the user, and I therefore reserve the right to make any and allsuch changes or modifications therein as may be found essential or desirable in meetingthese conditions, in-

1. In assemblages for sidewise gravitation launching of ships, and in combination, a sliding way assemblage for supporting the ship during launching, and a plurality of supporting-units ar-' ranged in spaced parallelism relative to the bulkhead of the'launching basin and over which the laden sliding way assemblage advances downrality of adjacentbuoyant sections into an assembly of buoyant sections movable bodily as a unit. r

5. A launching assemblage as in claim 1 chara'cterized in that the retarding means includes a planar face carried by the outer end zone of the under side of the section and extending substantially normal to the direction of arcuate swing of the section, and with the face of prededeterminedwidth and of a length suflicient to connect a plurality of adjacentbuoyantsections formed of a succession of individual sliding Way units equallingthe number of supporting units,

with each sliding way unit individual to a supporting unit. 7

BLAKELY SMITH. 

